The present invention relates to a process for the production of frozen pasta, more particularly to pre-cooked frozen pastas.
In order to prepare a good pre-cooked frozen pasta with the desired pasta firmness the pasta should be cooked at a high temperature (e.g., above 97.degree. C.) for the appropriate time to obtain the optimum cooked moisture content of from about 60-70%. Normally, the firmness is inversely proportional to the moisture content e.g., pastas with 60% moisture are firmer than pastas with 64% moisture. However, if pastas are not cooked well (e.g., at a water temperature less than 97.degree. C.) the cooked pastas have a poor texture (sticky and soft) regardless of the cooked pasta's moisture content, and the pastas are not as firm as pastas cooked at 97.degree. C. with the same moisture content because starch leaches out during cooking at lower temperatures.
However, when cooking at temperatures of at least 97.degree. C., there is a basic texture problem because it is difficult to control the optimum cooked moisture (and consequently the optimum firmness) owing to the fact that when the pastas are packaged with sauce or water and then frozen, there is a continuous water absorption by the cooked pastas during the freezing, thawing and reheating for consumption stages. For example, a sample of 100 g cooked pasta containing 63% moisture packaged with 200 g water and frozen over 2 hours would absorb moixture until the moisture content is 72.8%. If the package is thawed by microwave heating, the moisture content would increase to 73.9%. Even if the water is replaced by a sauce, the moisture increase is less but still substantial, especially if large quantities of products are packaged, such as products for food service use, which require longer freezing and heating times. The texture of pastas with 73% moisture content is less than desirable. On the other hand if the pastas are cooked to only 58% moisture, the moisture content could increase to 68% after the freezing (with sauce or water) and heating steps to fall within the optimum moisture range of cooked pastas with good texture, but at 58% moisture, the pastas are not fully cooked and have a mealy texture.
Lastly, it is known that dehydrated pastas after they are cooked and packaged with water or sauce retain pasta firmness better than fresh extruded or sheeted raw pastas after they are cooked and packaged with sauce or water because the former absorb less moisture than the latter.